Candid Commercial Outtakes Show the Many Moods of Kung-Fu Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino's obsession with Asian pop culture knows virtually no limits, which may or may not have inspired his appearance in a new commercial campaign for Japanese cell phone giant SoftBank. The spots themselves haven't yet emerged online as far as I can tell, but a recent SoftBank press conference announcing the ads -- complete with "Uncle Tara-chan" outtakes -- should hold you over just fine until the real thing(s). Click through for the video.

According to reports, Tarantino couldn't make the press conference unveiling him in his new role in the popular "Whites" campaign. Since its inception in 2007, the spots have featured the characters "Me" (a Softbank shop saleswoman played by popular singer/actress Aya Ueto), "Dad" (played by a talking dog), "Mom," and "Older Brother" (actor Dante Carter, featured on the right in the video below). Tarantino joined the group recently as Uncle Tara-chan, whose formidable samurai skills are apparently compromised by something that comes between him and his... phone. Maybe. If anything could use Sally Menke's gifted editorial touch, it's this.

· 'Whites' Press Conference [YouTube via Examiner]